Check-in determination device

ABSTRACT

A check-in determination apparatus  1  includes: a determination history information storage unit  13  configured to store determination history information for each terminal  2,  in which position identifying information capable of identifying a position of the terminal  2  when check-in of the terminal  2  with respect to the geofence was determined is correlated with geofence identifying information capable of identifying the geofence; a related geofence information storage unit  12  configured to store related geofence information that correlates another geofence with each geofence; a position identifying information acquisition unit  14  configured to acquire position identifying information of the terminal  2;  and a check-in determination unit  15  configured to determine check-in of the terminal  2  with respect to the geofence determined on the basis of the acquired position identifying information of the terminal  2,  the stored determination history information, and the stored related geofence information.

TECHNICAL FIELD

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a check-in determinationapparatus that determines check-in indicating that a terminal hasentered a geofence which is a prescribed geographic area.

BACKGROUND ART

Patent Literature 1 as below discloses a geofence management system thatdetermines that a user device has entered a boundary of a geofenceincluding a related point of interest.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2017-84411

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Generally, an apparatus that determines check-in of a terminal intogeofences determines check-in of a terminal for each of all geofencesregistered in advance. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes aconsiderable amount of time in determining check-in of a terminal ifthere are many geofences registered in advance.

Therefore, an aspect of the present disclosure has been made in view ofthese problems, and an object thereof is to provide a check-indetermination apparatus capable of determining check-in at a higherspeed.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the problems, a check-in determination apparatusaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure is a check-indetermination apparatus configured to determine check-in indicating thata terminal has entered a geofence which is a prescribed geographic area,including: a determination history information storage unit configuredto store determination history information for each terminal, in whichposition identifying information capable of identifying a position ofthe terminal when check-in of the terminal with respect to the geofencewas determined is correlated with geofence identifying informationcapable of identifying the geofence; a related geofence informationstorage unit configured to store related geofence information configuredto correlate another geofence with each geofence on the basis of adistance from the geofence; a position identifying informationacquisition unit configured to acquire position identifying informationof the terminal; and a check-in determination unit configured todetermine check-in of the terminal with respect to a target geofencewhich is the geofence determined on the basis of the positionidentifying information of the terminal acquired by the positionidentifying information acquisition unit, the determination historyinformation stored by the determination history information storageunit, and the related geofence information stored by the relatedgeofence information storage unit.

According to such a check-in determination apparatus, check-in of aterminal with respect to the determined target geofence is determined.For example, since narrowed-down geofences are determined as the targetgeofence and the number of target geofences for which check-in of theterminal is determined decreases, it is possible to determine check-inat a higher speed.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible todetermine check-in at a higher speed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a check-in determination systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing check-in.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a check-in determinationapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a geofence informationtable.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing correlations between pieces ofrelated geofence information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related geofenceinformation table.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a related geofenceinformation creation process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of determination historyinformation table.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a check-indetermination process.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a hardware configuration of the check-indetermination apparatus according to the embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a check-in determination apparatus will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Indescription with reference to the drawings, the same elements will bereferred to by the same reference signs and redundant descriptionthereof will be omitted. In the following description, the embodimentsare specific examples of the present invention, and the presentinvention is not limited to these embodiments unless particularly statedotherwise.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a check-in determination system 3. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the check-in determination system 3 includes acheck-in determination apparatus 1 and one or more terminals 2. Thecheck-in determination apparatus 1 and the terminals 2 are connected bya network such as a mobile communication network or a wireless localarea network (LAN) so as to be accessible to each other.

The check-in determination apparatus 1 is a computer apparatus such as aserver. The check-in determination apparatus 1 determines check-inindicating that the terminal 2 has entered a geofence which is aprescribed geographic area. The details of the functions of the check-indetermination apparatus 1 will be described later.

Specifically, a geofence is a virtual geographic boundary or region(area) set in a real-world arbitrary position. In the presentembodiment, although a geofence is represented as a circle defined bythe center indicated by a latitude and a longitude and a radiusindicated by a distance, there is no limitation thereto. For example, ageofence may be a geographic area surrounded by arbitrary curves and/orlines. Moreover, for example, a geofence is not limited to a2-dimensional space and may be a range spreading in a 3-dimensionalspace such as a sphere or a solid.

Specifically, check-in indicates that the terminal 2 has crossed ageographic boundary of a geofence or the terminal 2 has entered theregion of a geofence. Checking-in indicates that the terminal 2 crossesa geographic boundary of a geofence or the terminal 2 enters the regionof a geofence. Determining check-in means determining whether theterminal 2 has checked in (entered) a geofence or determining that theterminal 2 has checked in (entered) a geofence. An example of the use ofthe determination of check-in is a purchase inducing mechanism in whicha geofence is set in advance around a certain store, and when it isdetermined that the terminal 2 carried by a user has checked into thegeofence (that is, has approached the store), a coupon for the store isdistributed to the terminal 2, and the user looks at the distributedcoupon and visits the store with an increased buying intention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing check-in. As illustrated in FIG. 2,three geofences Ga, Gb, and Gc are formed in advance. FIG. 2 illustratesa scene in which the terminal 2 moves into the geofence Ga and theterminal 2 checks into the geofence Ga. The terminal 2 may check into aplurality of geofences at a time. For example, in FIG. 2, when theterminal 2 has moved to an overlapping range of the geofences Ga and Gc,the terminal 2 checks into the geofences Ga and Gc.

The terminal 2 is a computer apparatus such as a smartphone. Theterminal 2 may be carried by a user and may be provided in a machine oran apparatus such as an automobile. Although it is assumed that theterminal 2 moves geographically, there is no limitation thereto.

The terminal 2 transmits position identifying information capable ofidentifying the position of the terminal 2 to the check-in determinationapparatus 1 (specifically, a position identifying informationacquisition unit 14 thereof to be described later). The transmissiontiming may be periodical (for example, once a minute) and may be anarbitrary timing based on an instruction or the like of the user or thecheck-in determination apparatus 1. Specifically, the positionidentifying information is Lat (Latitude) and Lon (Longitude) which arethe latitude and longitude acquired by a global positioning system (GPS)included in the terminal 2 or a service set identifier (SSID) or a basicservice set identifier (BSSID) related to a network that the terminal 2is accessing. However, there is no limitation thereto, and arbitraryinformation may be used as long as it can identify the position of theterminal 2. Although the position of the terminal 2 based on SSID orBSSID can be identified on the basis of the position information(latitude and longitude and the like) registered in advance of a networkrelay apparatus such as an access point indicated by the SSID or theBSSID, there is no limitation thereto. Hereinafter, in the presentembodiment, although the position identifying information is describedas the latitude and longitude, the position identifying information maybe appropriately replaced with SSID or BSSID or another informationcapable of identifying the position. Furthermore, the positionidentifying information may include a universally unique identifier(UUID) which is identification information of the terminal 2 anddatetime (date and time) indicating the timing at which the positionidentifying information was acquired.

The terminal 2 may receive a determination result of the check-indetermination apparatus 1 or information based on the determinationresult from the check-in determination apparatus 1 or another apparatusconnected via the network and display the same to a user. For example,the terminal 2 may receive and display information indicating that ithas checked into a certain geofence or coupon information or the likerelated to a coupon of a store when it is determined that the terminal 2has checked into a geofence formed by the store.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the check-in determinationapparatus 1. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the check-in determinationapparatus 1 includes a geofence information storage unit 10, a relatedgeofence information creation unit 11 (a related geofence informationcreation unit), a related geofence information storage unit 12 (arelated geofence information storage unit), a determination historyinformation storage unit 13 (a determination history information storageunit), a position identifying information acquisition unit 14 (aposition identifying information acquisition unit), a check-indetermination unit 15 (a check-in determination unit), and adetermination history information creation unit 16 (a determinationhistory information creation unit). Hereinafter, the respectivefunctional blocks of the check-in determination apparatus 1 illustratedin FIG. 3 will be described.

The geofence information storage unit 10 stores geofence informationwhich is information related to a geofence. Specifically, the geofenceinformation is information that defines a geofence. FIG. 4 is a diagramillustrating an example of a geofence information table. As illustratedin FIG. 4, the geofence information is correlated with a point namewhich is the name for identifying a geofence, Lat which is the latitudeof the center of the geofence, Lon which is the longitude of the centerof the geofence, and the radius of the geofence. For example, the firstrecord of the example of the geofence information table illustrated inFIG. 4 indicates that the point name of the geofence is “0”, thelatitude and longitude of the center of the geofence are“35.67160100466009” and “139.74065636676073”, respectively, and theradius of the geofence is “50” meters. The geofence information mayinclude a portion of the point name, Lat, Lon, and the radius and mayinclude other information in correlation. The geofence information maybe created in advance by an administrator or the like of the check-indetermination apparatus 1, and a computer apparatus may create the samemechanically on the basis of the information related to the existinggeofences.

The related geofence information creation unit 11 creates relatedgeofence information for each geofence, correlated with other geofenceson the basis of the distances from respective geofences on the basis ofthe geofence information stored by the geofence information storage unit10. FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing correlations between pieces ofrelated geofence information. As illustrated in FIG. 5, six geofences G0to G5 are formed in advance. FIG. 5 illustrates a scene in which relatedgeofence information is created such that geofences G1 to G4 (othergeofences) which are geofences other than the geofence G0 at a distanceequal to or smaller than the radius of 200 meters (a prescribed value tobe described later) from the center of the geofence G0 are correlatedwith the geofence G0. Since the geofence G5 is not at a distance equalto or smaller than the radius of 200 meters from the center of thegeofence G0, the geofence G5 is not correlated in the related geofenceinformation. The condition “at a distance equal to or smaller than theradius of 200 meters from the center” is not limited thereto, and anarbitrary condition on the basis of a distance may be used. For example,a condition “within a donut-shaped range at a distance larger than theradius of 200 meters and equal to or smaller than the radius of 500meters from the center” may be used. The condition may be set in advancearbitrarily by an administrator or the like of the check-indetermination apparatus 1.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a related geofenceinformation table. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the related geofenceinformation is correlated with a point name which is the name foridentifying a geofence, Lat which is the latitude of the center of thegeofence, Lon which is the longitude of the center of the geofence, theradius of the geofence, a point name of a geofence (another geofence)included in a prescribed range (hereinafter a prescribed range of “˜200m”) which is a range in which the radius from the center is equal to orsmaller than 200 meters, a point name of a geofence (another geofence)included in a prescribed range (hereinafter a prescribed range of “200m˜500 m”) which is a range in which the radius from the center is largerthan 200 meters and equal to or smaller than 500 meters, and a pointname of a geofence (another geofence) included in a prescribed range(hereinafter a prescribed range of “500 m˜1 km”) which is a range inwhich the radius from the center is larger than 500 meters and equal toor smaller than 1 kilometers. Although the prescribed range is based onthe distance from the center of a geofence, there is no limitationthereto, and the prescribed range may be based on the distance from anarbitrary point in a geofence.

For example, the first record of the example of the related geofenceinformation table illustrated in FIG. 6 indicates that a geofence ofwhich the point name is “0”, the latitude and longitude of the centerare “35.67160100466009” and “139.74065636676073”, respectively, and theradius is “50” meters is correlated with geofences of the point names“1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” included in a prescribed range of “˜200 m” fromthe geofence, geofences of the point names “5”, “6”, “7”, “8”, “9”, and“A” included in a prescribed range of “200 m˜500 m” from the geofence,and geofences of the point names “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”, “F”, “G”, “H”, and“I” included in a prescribed range of “500 m˜1 km” from the geofence.The related geofence information may include a portion of the pointname, Lat, Lon, the radius, and the prescribed range and may includeanother information in correlation. The prescribed range may be set inadvance by an administrator or the like of the check-in determinationapparatus 1.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a related geofenceinformation creation process of the related geofence informationcreation unit 11. First, a loop process (S1 loop) of reading thegeofence information stored in the geofence information storage unit 10and performing the subsequent processes of S2 to S7 repeatedly withrespect to the respective records is executed (step S1). In the S1 loop,first, a calculation target record which is a target record of this loopis read from the geofence information read in step S1 (step S2).Moreover, in step S2, the record (point name, Lat, Lon, and radius) of ageofence indicated by the calculation target record among the pieces ofgeofence information read in step S1 is set as a new record of therelated geofence information to be created.

Subsequently, a loop process (S3 loop) of performing the subsequentprocesses of S3 to S7 repeatedly with respect to each record other thanthe calculation target record among the pieces of geofence informationread in step S1 is executed (step S3). In the S3 loop, first, acomparison target record which is a target record of this loop is readfrom the pieces of geofence information (other than the calculationtarget record) read in step S1 (step S4). Subsequently, a value D (thedistance in Lat and Lon between the calculation target record and thecomparison target record+the radii of the calculation target record andthe comparison target record) based on the distance between a geofenceindicated by the calculation target record read in step S2 and ageofence indicated by the comparison target record read in step S4 iscalculated (step S5).

Subsequently, it is determined whether the value D is equal to orsmaller than a prescribed value of 200 m, 500 m, or 1 km (step S6). Morespecifically, it is determined whether the value D is equal to or largerthan 0 m and equal to or smaller than the prescribed value of 200 m, oris larger than 200 m and equal to or smaller than the prescribed valueof 500 m, or is larger than 500 m and equal to or smaller than theprescribed value of 1 km. When it is determined in step S6 that thevalue D is equal to or larger than 0 m and equal to or smaller than 200m (S6: YES), a point name of the comparison target record isadditionally correlated with a new record of the related geofenceinformation set in step S2 as a point name of a geofence included in theprescribed range of “˜200 m” (step S7). Similarly, when it is determinedin step S6 that the value D is larger than 200 m and equal to or smallerthan 500 m (S6: YES), a point name of the comparison target record isadditionally correlated with a new record of the related geofenceinformation set in step S2 as a point name of a geofence included in theprescribed range of “200 m˜500 m” (step S7). Similarly, when it isdetermined in step S6 that the value D is larger than 500 m and equal toor smaller than 1 km (S6: YES), a point name of the comparison targetrecord is additionally correlated with a new record of the relatedgeofence information set in step S2 as a point name of a geofenceincluded in the prescribed range of “500 m˜1 km” (step S7).

Subsequently to step S7 or when it is determined in step S6 that thevalue D is larger than the prescribed value of 1 km (S6: NO), the S3loop proceeds to a subsequent loop (the S3 loop is executed with respectto a subsequent comparison target record). After all loops in the S3loop are completed (after the S3 loop is executed with respect to allcomparison target records), the S1 loop proceeds to a subsequent loop(the S1 loop is executed with respect to a subsequent calculation targetrecord). After all loops in the S1 loop are completed (after the S1 loopis executed with respect to all calculation target records), the relatedgeofence information creation process ends.

The creation of the related geofence information by the related geofenceinformation creation unit 11 may be executed periodically (for example,once a day) and may be executed irregularly on the basis of aninstruction of an administrator or the like of the check-indetermination apparatus 1. The creation of the related geofenceinformation by the related geofence information creation unit 11 isexecuted independently from and earlier than the determination ofcheck-in by the check-in determination apparatus 1 (the check-indetermination unit 15 thereof). That is, a processing time of thedetermination of check-in by the check-in determination apparatus 1 (thecheck-in determination unit 15 thereof) is not influenced by aprocessing time of the creation of the related geofence information bythe related geofence information creation unit 11. The creation of therelated geofence information by the related geofence informationcreation unit 11 may be executed at the timing of the determination ofcheck-in by the check-in determination apparatus 1 (the check-indetermination unit 15 thereof).

The related geofence information storage unit 12 stores related geofenceinformation. Specifically, the related geofence information storage unit12 stores the related geofence information created by the relatedgeofence information creation unit 11.

The determination history information storage unit 13 storesdetermination history information of each terminal 2, in which theposition identifying information of the terminal 2 when check-in of theterminal 2 with respect to a geofence is determined and geofenceidentifying information capable of identifying the geofence arecorrelated. Specifically, the determination history information storageunit 13 stores the determination history information created by thedetermination history information creation unit 16 to be describedlater. Although the geofence identifying information may be a pointname, for example, there is no limitation thereto, and arbitraryinformation may be used as long as it can identify a geofence.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a determination historyinformation table. As illustrated in FIG. 8, determination historyinformation is correlated with UUID which is identification informationof the terminal 2 when check-in of the terminal 2 with respect to ageofence is determined, Lat of the position identifying information ofthe terminal 2, Lon of the position identifying information of theterminal, datetime indicating the timing (the timing at which theterminal 2 has checked into the geofence) at which the positionidentifying information of the terminal 2 was acquired, and a point name(geofence identifying information) of the geofence. For example, thefirst record of the example of the determination history informationtable illustrated in FIG. 8 indicates that the terminal 2 having theUUID of “123456” has checked into a geofence of which the point name is“0” when the latitude and longitude as the position of the terminal 2were “35.67133587740171” and “139.74037219385116”, respectively, at thedatetime of “2018-08-22 13:40-00”. The determination history informationmay store all histories of the past check-in of each of the terminals 2(UUIDs), may store the history of a prescribed period (for example, pastone week), and may store the history of an immediately previouscheck-in. The determination history information may include a portion ofUUID, Lat, Lon, datetime, and point name, and may include otherinformation in correlation.

The position identifying information acquisition unit 14 acquires theposition identifying information of the terminal 2. Specifically, theposition identifying information acquisition unit 14 receives andacquires the position identifying information transmitted from therespective terminals 2. The position identifying information acquisitionunit 14 may acquire the position identifying information (indirectly)from other apparatus or the memory or the like of the check-indetermination apparatus 1 without being limited to the terminals 2. Theposition identifying information acquisition unit 14 outputs theacquired position identifying information to the check-in determinationunit 15.

The check-in determination unit 15 determines check-in of the terminal 2with respect to a target geofence which is a geofence determined on thebasis of the position identifying information of the terminal 2 acquired(input) by the position identifying information acquisition unit 14, thedetermination history information stored by the determination historyinformation storage unit 13, and the related geofence information storedby the related geofence information storage unit 12. The check-indetermination unit 15 may calculate a moving distance of the terminal 2on the basis of the position identifying information of the terminal 2acquired by the position identifying information acquisition unit 14 andthe position identifying information included in the determinationhistory information of the terminal 2 stored by the determinationhistory information storage unit 13 and may determine the targetgeofence further on the basis of the calculated moving distance. Thecheck-in determination unit 15 may determine another geofence correlatedin the related geofence information stored by the related geofenceinformation storage unit 12 as the target geofence. The check-indetermination unit 15 may calculate a moving distance of the terminal 2on the basis of the position identifying information of the terminal 2acquired by the position identifying information acquisition unit 14 andthe position identifying information included in the determinationhistory information of the terminal 2 stored by the determinationhistory information storage unit 13, and may determine another geofencecorrelated, on the basis of the calculated moving distance, with ageofence identified by the geofence identifying information correlatedwith the position identifying information included in the determinationhistory information in the related geofence information stored by therelated geofence information storage unit 12 as a target geofence. Thecheck-in determination unit 15 may determine whether the determinationhistory information of the terminal 2 is stored by the determinationhistory information storage unit 13 when the position identifyinginformation of the terminal 2 is acquired by the position identifyinginformation acquisition unit 14 and may determine the target geofencewhen it is determined that the information is stored. The details of theabove-described process of the check-in determination unit 15 will bedescribed later.

After determining check-in of the terminal 2, the check-in determinationunit 15 may transmit the determination result or information based onthe determination result to the terminal 2, another function of thecheck-in determination apparatus 1, or another apparatus. Thedetermination result may include the UUID of the terminal 2, the pointname of the geofence for which check-in was determined, and datetimewhich is the timing at which the position identifying information of theterminal 2 which is a check-in determination target was acquired and mayinclude other information.

The determination history information creation unit 16 createsdetermination history information in which the position identifyinginformation of the terminal 2 acquired by the position identifyinginformation acquisition unit 14 and the geofence identifying informationcapable of identifying the geofence when check-in of the terminal 2 withrespect to the geofence was determined by the check-in determinationunit 15 are correlated.

A processing example of the check-in determination unit 15 and thedetermination history information creation unit 16 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exampleof a check-in determination process by the check-in determination unit15 and the determination history information creation unit 16. Thesubject of the process is the check-in determination unit 15 unlessparticularly stated otherwise in the following description.

First, the position identifying information acquisition unit 14 acquiresthe position identifying information of the terminal 2 (step S10). It isassumed that the position identifying information includes a UUID, Lat,Lon, and datetime. Subsequently, it is determined whether thedetermination history information of the terminal 2 is stored by thedetermination history information storage unit 13 (that is, whether aprevious check-in history of the terminal 2 is present) (step S11). Morespecifically, the UUID of the terminal 2 included in the positionidentifying information acquired in step S10 is extracted, and it isdetermined whether a record corresponding to the extracted UUID ispresent in the determination history information stored by thedetermination history information storage unit 13. When it is determinedin step S11 that the information is stored (S11: Yes), a moving distancefrom the position during the previous check-in of the terminal 2 to thepresent position of the terminal 2 is calculated (step S12). Morespecifically, the distance between the position indicated by the Lat andLon of a record (hereinafter referred to as a “previous check-inrecord”) of which the datetime is the latest among the pieces ofdetermination history information of the terminal 2 stored by thedetermination history information storage unit 13 and the positionindicated by the Lat and Lon included in the position identifyinginformation acquired in step S10 is calculated.

Subsequently, it is determined whether the moving distance calculated instep S12 is equal to or smaller than the prescribed value of 200 m, 500m, or 1 km (step S13). More specifically, it is determined whether themoving distance is equal to or larger than 0 m and equal to or smallerthan the prescribed value of 200 m, or is equal to or larger than 200 mand equal to or smaller than the prescribed value of 500 m, or is equalto or larger than 500 m and equal to or smaller than the prescribedvalue of 1 km.

When it is determined in step S12 that the moving distance is equal toor larger than 0 m and equal to or smaller than the prescribed value of200 m (S13: YES), a geofence indicated by a point name included in theprescribed range of “˜200 m” of the record of which the point name isthe point name of the previous check-in record among the pieces ofrelated geofence information stored by the related geofence informationstorage unit 12 is determined as the target geofence (step S14). Forexample, when the related geofence information is the table exampleillustrated in FIG. 6 and the previous check-in record is the firstrecord of the table example illustrated in FIG. 8, the geofencesindicated by the point names of “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” are determined asthe target geofences.

Similarly, when it is determined in step S12 that the moving distance isequal to or larger than 200 m and equal to or smaller than theprescribed value of 500 m (S13: YES), a geofence indicated by a pointname included in the prescribed range of “200 m˜500 m” of the record ofwhich the point name is the point name of the previous check-in recordamong the pieces of related geofence information stored by the relatedgeofence information storage unit 12 is determined as the targetgeofence (step S14). For example, when the related geofence informationis the table example illustrated in FIG. 6 and the previous check-inrecord is the first record of the table example illustrated in FIG. 8,the geofences indicated by the point names of “5”, “6”, “7”, “8”, “9”,and “A” are determined as the target geofences.

Similarly, when it is determined in step S12 that the moving distance isequal to or larger than 500 m and equal to or smaller than theprescribed value of 1 km (S13: YES), a geofence indicated by a pointname included in the prescribed range of “500 m˜1 km” of the record ofwhich the point name is the point name of the previous check-in recordamong the pieces of related geofence information stored by the relatedgeofence information storage unit 12 is determined as the targetgeofence (step S14). For example, when the related geofence informationis the table example illustrated in FIG. 6 and the previous check-inrecord is the first record of the table example illustrated in FIG. 8,the geofences indicated by the point names of “B”, “C”, “D”, “E”, “F”,“G”, “H”, and “I” are determined as the target geofences.

Subsequently to step S14, a loop process (S15 loop) of extracting therecords of the target geofences determined in step S14 from the piecesof geofence information stored by the geofence information storage unit10 and performing the subsequent processes of steps S16 to S18repeatedly with respect to the respective records is executed (stepS15). In the S15 loop, first, a determination target record (geofence)which is a target record of this loop is read (step S16). Subsequently,it is determined whether the terminal 2 has checked into a geofenceindicated by the determination target record read in step S16 (stepS17). More specifically, it is determined whether the position indicatedby the Lat and Lon included in the position identifying informationacquired in step S10 is included in a circle of which the radius is theradius of the determination target record about the position indicatedby the Lat and Lon of the determination target record. When it isdetermined in step S17 that the terminal 2 has checked in (S17: YES), itis determined that the terminal 2 has checked in (step S18) and thedetermination history information creation unit 16 creates determinationhistory information in which the position identifying informationacquired in step S10 is correlated with the point name of thedetermination target record.

Subsequently to step S18 or when it is determined in step S17 that theterminal 2 has not checked in (step S17: NO), the S15 loop proceeds to asubsequent loop (the S15 loop is executed with respect to the subsequentdetermination target record among the records of the target geofences).After all loops of the S15 loop are completed (after the S15 loop isexecuted with respect to all determination target records), the check-indetermination process ends.

When it is determined in step S11 that the information is not stored(S11: NO), or when it is determined in step S13 that the moving distanceis larger than the prescribed value 1 km (S13: NO), a loop process (S19loop) of extracting all records of the geofence information stored bythe geofence information storage unit 10 and performing the subsequentprocesses of S20 to S22 repeatedly with respect to the respectiverecords is executed (step S19). In the S19 loop, first, a determinationtarget record (geofence) which is a target record of this loop is read(step S20). Subsequently, it is determined whether the terminal 2 haschecked into the geofence indicated by the determination target recordread in step S20 (step S21). More specifically, it is determined whetherthe position indicated by the Lat and Lon included in the positionidentifying information acquired in step S10 is included in a circle ofwhich the radius is the radius of the determination target record aboutthe position indicated by the Lat and Lon of the determination targetrecord. When it is determined in step S21 that the terminal 2 haschecked in (S21: YES), it is determined that the terminal 2 has checkedin (step S22) and the determination history information creation unit 16creates determination history information in which the positionidentifying information acquired in step S10 is correlated with thepoint name of the determination target record.

Subsequently to step S22 or when it is determined in step S21 that theterminal 2 has not checked in (step S21: NO), the S19 loop proceeds to asubsequent loop (the S19 loop is executed with respect to the subsequentdetermination target record among all the records of the targetgeofences). After all loops of the S19 loop are completed (after the S19loop is executed with respect to all determination target records), thecheck-in determination process ends. The S19 loop is a so-called fullsearch. In description of step S19, it has been described that allrecords of the geofence information stored by the geofence informationstorage unit 10 are extracted and the subsequent processes of steps S20to S22 are performed repeatedly with respect to the respective records.However, instead of extracting all records, the records related togeofences other than the geofences indicated by the point names includedin the prescribed ranges of “˜200 m”, “200 m˜500 m”, and “500 m to 1 km”may be extracted, and the subsequent processes of steps S20 to S22 maybe performed repeatedly with respect to the respective records.

In description of the check-in determination process, although it hasbeen described that the previous check-in record which is the recordduring the previous check-in is used, there is no limitation thereto.For example, the process may be performed using the record during then-th previous check-in (n is an integer of 1 or more). Moreover,although “200 m”, “500 m”, and “1 km” are used for the prescribed valuesand the prescribed ranges in the present embodiment, there is nolimitation thereto and arbitrary values may be used. The values “200 m”,“500 m”, and “1 km” are values set assuming that the positionidentifying information acquisition unit 14 acquires the positionidentifying information of the terminal 2 once in three minutes and thewalking speed of the user carrying the terminal 2 is 70 meters perminute. In this manner, the check-in determination apparatus 1 or theadministrator thereof may set the prescribed value and the prescribedrange on the basis of the acquisition frequency of the positionidentifying information acquisition unit 14 and the moving speed of theterminal 2.

Next, the effects of the check-in determination apparatus 1 configuredas in the present embodiment will be described.

According to the check-in determination apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, the check-in determination unit 15 determines check-in ofthe terminal 2 with respect to a target geofence determined on the basisof the position identifying information of the terminal 2 acquired bythe position identifying information acquisition unit 14, thedetermination history information stored by the determination historyinformation storage unit 13, and the related geofence information storedby the related geofence information storage unit 12. In this way, forexample, since narrowed-down geofences are determined as the targetgeofence and the number of target geofences for which check-in of theterminal 2 is determined decreases, it is possible to determine check-inat a higher speed.

According to the check-in determination apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, the check-in determination unit 15 calculates the movingdistance of the terminal 2 on the basis of the position identifyinginformation of the terminal acquired by the position identifyinginformation acquisition unit 14 and the position identifying informationincluded in the determination history information of the terminal 2stored by the determination history information storage unit 13 and thetarget geofence is calculated further on the basis of the calculatedmoving distance. In this way, it is possible to determine a targetgeofence in which the terminal 2 is highly likely to check in on thebasis of the moving distance of the terminal 2, for example. Therefore,since determinations of check-in with respect to a geofence in which theterminal 2 is less likely to check in (that is, unnecessarydetermination of check-in) are reduced, it is possible to determinecheck-in at a higher speed.

According to the check-in determination apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, the check-in determination unit 15 determines a geofence(another geofence) included in the prescribed range correlated in therelated geofence information stored by the related geofence informationstorage unit 12 as a target geofence. In this way, it is possible todetermine a geofence corresponding to the distance from a geofence inwhich the terminal 2 has checked in previously as a target geofence, forexample. That is, it is possible to determine a target geofence in whichthe terminal 2 is highly likely to check in. Therefore, sincedeterminations of check-in with respect to a geofence in which theterminal 2 is less likely to check in (that is, unnecessarydetermination of check-in) are reduced, it is possible to determinecheck-in at a higher speed.

According to the check-in determination apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, the check-in determination unit 15 calculates the movingdistance of the terminal 2 on the basis of the position identifyinginformation of the terminal 2 acquired by the position identifyinginformation acquisition unit 14 and the position identifying informationincluded in the determination history information of the terminal 2stored by the determination history information storage unit 13 anddetermines another geofence correlated, on the basis of the calculatedmoving distance, with the geofence identified by the geofenceidentifying information correlated with the position identifyinginformation included in the determination history information in therelated geofence information stored by the related geofence informationstorage unit 12 as the target geofence. In this way, it is possible todetermine a geofence corresponding to the moving distance of theterminal 2 from a geofence in which the terminal 2 has checked inpreviously as a target geofence, for example. That is, it is possible todetermine a target geofence in which the terminal 2 is highly likely tocheck in. Therefore, since determinations of check-in with respect to ageofence in which the terminal 2 is less likely to check in (that is,unnecessary determination of check-in) are reduced, it is possible todetermine check-in at a higher speed.

According to the check-in determination apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, the check-in determination unit 15 determines whether thedetermination history information of the terminal 2 is stored by thedetermination history information storage unit 13 (S11 in FIG. 9) whenthe position identifying information of the terminal 2 is acquired bythe position identifying information acquisition unit 14 and determinesthe target geofence when it is determined that the information isstored. In this way, since it is possible to determine whether check-indetermination based on a target geofence will be performed in an earlystage, for example, it is possible to determine check-in reliably at ahigher speed.

The check-in determination apparatus 1 of the present embodimentincludes the related geofence information creation unit 11 that createsthe related geofence information, and the related geofence informationcreated by the related geofence information creation unit 11 is storedby the related geofence information storage unit 12. In this way, it ispossible to create and store the related geofence information morereliably at an arbitrary timing, for example.

The check-in determination apparatus 1 of the present embodimentincludes the determination history information creation unit 16 thatcreates determination history information that correlates the positionidentifying information of the terminal 2 acquired by the positionidentifying information acquisition unit 14 with the geofenceidentifying information of the geofence when the check-in determinationunit 15 determines check-in of the terminal 2 with respect to thegeofence, and the determination history information created by thedetermination history information creation unit 16 is stored by thedetermination history information storage unit 13. In this way, it ispossible to create and store the determination history information morereliably at a timing at which check-in is determined, for example.

Here, an apparatus (a conventional apparatus) that determines check-inin the conventional technique will be described. The conventionalapparatus performs the following comparison and determines that aterminal has checked in when a condition is satisfied. For example, whenthe Lat and Lon of a terminal are input, the distance to the positionindicated by the Lat and Lon of each record related to a geofence in aDB is calculated and it is compared whether the calculated distance isequal to or smaller than the radius of the geofence. Moreover, forexample, when the SSID or BSSID related to network communication of aterminal are input, it is compared whether the input SSID or BSSID matchthe SSID or BSSID of each record related to the geofence in a DB. Inthis manner, the computation amount in the conventional apparatuscorresponds a multiplication of the number of records in the DB by thenumber of pieces of input data, and full search is performed (since aterminal may check into a plurality of geofences, determination isperformed for all records in the DB). That is, the conventionalapparatus incurs a huge amount of computation and it takes aconsiderable amount of time in determining check-in of a terminal.

On the other hand, as described above, in the check-in determinationapparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the check-in determination isaccelerated by limiting table search to a moving range of the terminal2. More specifically, the check-in determination apparatus 1 calculatesthe moving distance of the terminal 2 of the user from previous positioninformation and present position information and performs check-indetermination for geofences included in that range. Moreover, thecheck-in determination apparatus 1 defines a prescribed range inadvance, performs an operation of extracting geofences included in thedefinition, constructs related geofence information, and narrows downdetermination target geofences while observing the moving distance andthe previous check-in during check-in determination. In this way, thecheck-in determination apparatus 1 can determine check-in at a higherspeed.

The block diagram used in description of the embodiment illustratesfunctional blocks. These functional blocks (configuration units) arerealized by an arbitrary combination of hardware and/or software.Moreover, a realization method for realizing the respective functionalblocks is not particularly limited. That is, the respective functionalblocks may be realized by one apparatus which is physically or logicallycoupled or may be realized by a plurality of apparatuses which arephysically or logically separated and which are directly and/orindirectly (for example, by cables and/or wirelessly) connected. Thefunctional blocks may be realized by combining software with oneapparatus or a plurality of apparatuses.

Examples of functions include determining, deciding, judging,calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching,ascertaining, receiving, transmitting, outputting, accessing, resolving,selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, assuming, expecting,considering, broadcasting, notifying, communication, forwarding,configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), assigning, and thelike, but there is no limitation thereto. For example, a functionalblock (configuration unit) for performing transmission may be referredto as a transmitting unit or a transmitter. As described above, arealization method thereof is not particularly limited.

For example, the check-in determination apparatus 1 and the likeaccording to an embodiment of the present invention may function as acomputer that performs a check-in determination process of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the check-in determination apparatus 1 according to thepresent embodiment. The check-in determination apparatus 1 may bephysically configured as a computer apparatus which includes a processor1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication apparatus 1004, aninput apparatus 1005, an output apparatus 1006, a bus 1007, and thelike.

In the following description, the word “apparatus” may be replaced with“circuit,” “device,” “unit,” or the like. The hardware configuration ofthe check-in determination apparatus 1 may include one or a plurality ofapparatuses illustrated in FIG. 10 and may not include some apparatuses.

The respective functions of the check-in determination apparatus 1 arerealized when predetermined software (program) is read onto hardwaresuch as the processor 1001, the memory 1002, and the like, the processor1001 performs an operation, and the communication by the communicationapparatus 1004 and the data read and/or written in the memory 1002 andthe storage 1003 are controlled.

The processor 1001 operates an operating system to control the entirecomputer, for example. The processor 1001 may be configured as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) that includes an interface to a peripheralapparatus, a control apparatus, an operation apparatus, a register, andthe like. For example, the related geofence information creation unit11, the position identifying information acquisition unit 14, thecheck-in determination unit 15, the determination history informationcreation unit 16, and the like may be realized by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 reads a program (program codes), a software module,or data from the storage 1003 and/or the communication apparatus 1004into the memory 1002 and executes various processes according to theprogram and the like. A program for causing a computer to execute atleast a portion of the operations described in the embodiment is used asthe program. For example, the related geofence information creation unit11, the position identifying information acquisition unit 14, thecheck-in determination unit 15, and the determination historyinformation creation unit 16 may be realized by a control program whichis stored in the memory 1002 and operated by the processor 1001, and theother functional blocks may be realized in the same way. Although it hasbeen described that the above-described processes are executed by oneprocessor 1001, the processes may be executed by two or more processors1001 simultaneously or sequentially. One or more chips may be mounted inthe processor 1001. The program may be transmitted from a network via atelecommunication circuit.

The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may beconfigured as at least one of a read only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), and the like, for example. Thememory 1002 may be referred to as a register, a cache, a main memory(main storage device), and the like. The memory 1002 can store a program(program codes), a software module, and the like that can be executed toperform a wireless communication method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may beconfigured as at least one of an optical disc such as a compact disc(CD)-ROM, a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, an optomagnetic disc (forexample, a compact disc, a digital versatile disc, or a Blu-ray(registered trademark) disc), a smartcard, a flash memory (for example,a card, a stick, or a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk,a magnetic strip, and the like, for example. The storage 1003 may bereferred to as an auxiliary storage apparatus. The above-describedstorage medium may be a database and a server, and any other appropriatemedium that include the memory 1002 and/or the storage 1003.

The communication apparatus 1004 is hardware (a transmission andreception apparatus) for performing communication between computers viacables and/or a wireless network and is also referred to as a networkdevice, a network controller, a network card, a communication module,and the like, for example. The communication apparatus 1004 may includea high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer,and the like in order to realize at least one of frequency divisionduplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD), for example. For example,the position identifying information acquisition unit 14, the check-indetermination unit 15, and the like may be realized by the communicationapparatus 1004.

The input apparatus 1005 is an input device (for example, a keyboard, amouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, and the like) thatreceives the input from the outside. The output apparatus 1006 is anoutput device (for example, a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, or thelike) that outputs information to the outside. The input apparatus 1005and the output apparatus 1006 may have an integrated configuration (forexample, a touch panel).

The respective apparatuses such as the processor 1001 and the memory1002 are connected by the bus 1007 for communicating information. Thebus 1007 may be configured as a single bus and may be configured asdifferent buses for respective apparatuses.

The check-in determination apparatus 1 may be configured to includehardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logicdevice (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and the like, andsome or all of the respective functional blocks may be realized by thehardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented by at leastone of these items of hardware.

Notification of information is not limited to the aspects andembodiments described in the present disclosure but may be performedusing another method.

The respective aspects and embodiments described in the presentdisclosure may be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced(LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communicationsystem (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), FutureRadio Access (FRA), new radio (NR), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM(registered trademark), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registeredtrademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registeredtrademark), a system which uses other appropriate systems, and/or anext-generation system which is extended on the basis of these systems.Moreover, the respective aspects and embodiments described in thepresent disclosure may be applied to combinations of a plurality ofsystems (a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G).

The orders in the processing procedures, the sequences, the flowcharts,and the like described in the respective aspects and embodimentsdescribed in the present disclosure may be switched unless contradictionoccurs. For example, in the method described in the present disclosure,although various steps are illustrated in an exemplary order, the stepsare not limited to the illustrated specific order.

Input and output information and the like may be stored in a specificlocation (for example, a memory) and may be managed by a managementtable. The input and output information and the like may be overwritten,updated, or rewritten. The output information and the like may beerased. The input information and the like may be transmitted to otherapparatuses.

Determination may be made by a value (0 or 1) represented by one bit,may be made by a Boolean value (true or false), and may be made bycomparison of numerical values (comparison with a predetermined value,for example).

The respective aspects and embodiments described in the presentdisclosure may be used solely, may be used in combination, and may beswitched and used according to execution. Moreover, the notification(notification of “X,” for example) of predetermined information is notlimited to being performed explicitly but may be performed implicitly(for example, without performing the notification of the predeterminedinformation).

While the present disclosure has been described above in detail usingthe embodiment, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that thepresent disclosure is not limited only to the embodiment described inthe present disclosure. The present disclosure can also be embodied inother modified and altered forms without departing from the gist andscope of the present disclosure as defined by description in theappended claims. It is therefore to be understood that the disclosure ofthe present disclosure is intended for the purpose of description andexemplification but is not intended to limit the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The software should be widely interpreted to mean an instruction, aninstruction set, a code, a code segment, a program code, a program, asubprogram, a software module, an application, a software application, asoftware package, a routine, a subroutine, an object, an executablefile, an execution thread, a procedure, a function, and the like,regardless of whether the software is referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language or other names.

Furthermore, software, instructions, information, and the like, may betransmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, whenthe software is transmitted from a website, server, or another remotesource using wired technology such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair and digital subscriber line (DSL) and/or wirelesstechnology such as infrared rays, radio, and microwave, these wiredand/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of thetransmission medium.

Information, signals, and the like described in the present disclosuremay be represented using any of various other techniques. For example,data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols,chips, and the like mentioned in the entire description may berepresented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fieldor magnetic particles, optical field or photons, or any combinationthereof.

The terms described in the present disclosure and/or the terms necessaryfor understanding of the present disclosure may be replaced with termshaving the same or similar meaning.

The terms “system” and “network” as used in the present disclosure areused interchangeably.

Furthermore, the information, parameters, and the like described in thepresent disclosure may be represented by absolute values, may berepresented as relative values from predetermined values, or may berepresented by any other corresponding information.

The names used for the above-described parameters are not limiting namesin any respect. Furthermore, numerical formulae using these parametersmay be different from those explicitly disclosed in the presentdisclosure.

In the present disclosure, the terms “mobile station (MS)”, “userterminal”, user equipment (UE)”, and “terminal” can be usedinterchangeably.

The terms “determine (determining)” and “decide (determining)” used inthe present disclosure may include various types of operations. Forexample, “determining” and “deciding” may include considering that aresult of judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving,investigating, looking up (search or inquiry) (for example, search in atable, a database, or another data structure), or ascertaining is“determined” or “decided”. Furthermore, “determining” and “deciding” mayinclude, for example, considering that a result of receiving (forexample, reception of information), transmitting (for example,transmission of information), inputting, outputting, or accessing (forexample, accessing data in memory) is “determined” or “decided”.Furthermore, “determining” and “deciding” may include considering that aresult of resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, or comparing is“determined” or “decided”. That is, “determining” and “deciding” mayinclude considering that a certain operation is “determined” or“decided”. Moreover, “determining (deciding)” may be replaced with“assuming,” “expecting,” “considering,” and the like.

The terms “connected” and “coupled,” or any variation of these termsmean all direct or indirect connections or coupling between two or moreelements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediateelements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” to eachother. The coupling or connection between the elements may be physical,logical or a combination of these. For example, “connection” may bereplaced with “access”. As used in the present disclosure, when twoelements are connected, these elements may be considered “connected” or“coupled” to each other by using one or more electrical wires, cablesand/or printed electrical connections, and, as a number of non-limitingand non-inclusive examples, by using electromagnetic energy, such aselectromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency,microwave and optical (both visible and invisible) regions.

The expression “on the basis of” used in the present disclosure does notmean “on the basis of only” unless particularly stated otherwise. Inother words, the expression “on the basis of” means both “on the basisof only” and “on the basis of at least”.

In the configurations of the respective apparatuses, “means” may bereplaced with “unit”, “circuit”, “device”, and the like.

As long as “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used inthe present disclosure or the claims, these terms are intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the expression “comprising”.Furthermore, the expression “or” used in the specification or claims isnot intended to mean an exclusive logical sum.

In the present disclosure, when English articles such as a, an, and theare added to an element in the translated English text, for example,such an element to which these articles are added may be providedplurally.

In the present disclosure, the phrase “A and B are different” may mean“A and B are different from each other”. The phrase may mean “A and Beach are different from C”. The terms such as “separate” “coupled” andthe like may be interpreted similarly as “different”.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1: Check-in determination apparatus

2: Terminal

3: Check-in determination system

10: Geofence information storage unit

11: Related geofence information creation unit

12: Related geofence information storage unit

13: Determination history information storage unit

14: Position identifying information acquisition unit

15: Check-in determination unit

16: Determination history information creation unit

1. A check-in determination apparatus configured to determine check-inindicating that a terminal has entered a geofence which is a prescribedgeographic area, comprising processing circuitry configured to: storedetermination history information for each terminal, in which positionidentifying information capable of identifying a position of theterminal when check-in of the terminal with respect to the geofence wasdetermined is correlated with geofence identifying information capableof identifying the geofence; store related geofence information thatcorrelates another geofence with each geofence on the basis of adistance from the geofence; acquire position identifying information ofthe terminal; and determine check-in of the terminal with respect to atarget geofence which is the geofence determined on the basis of theacquired position identifying information of the terminal, the storeddetermination history information, and the stored related geofenceinformation.
 2. The check-in determination apparatus according to claim1, wherein the processing circuitry calculates a moving distance of theterminal on the basis of the acquired position identifying informationof the terminal and the position identifying information comprised inthe stored determination history information of the terminal anddetermines the target geofence further on the basis of the calculatedmoving distance.
 3. The check-in determination apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the processing circuitry determines another geofencecorrelated in the stored related geofence information as the targetgeofence.
 4. The check-in determination apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the processing circuitry calculates a moving distance of theterminal on the basis of the acquired position identifying informationof the terminal and the position identifying information comprised inthe stored determination history information of the terminal, and theprocessing circuitry determines another geofence correlated, on thebasis of the calculated moving distance, with the geofence identified bythe geofence identifying information correlated with the positionidentifying information comprised in the determination historyinformation in the stored related geofence information as the targetgeofence.
 5. The check-in determination apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the processing circuitry determines whether the determinationhistory information of the terminal has been stored when the positionidentifying information of the terminal was acquired and determines thetarget geofence when it is determined that the determination historyinformation has been stored.
 6. The check-in determination apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry furtherconfigured to: create related geofence information, and store thecreated related geofence information.
 7. The check-in determinationapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry furtherconfigured to: create determination history information in which theacquired position identifying information of the terminal is correlatedwith geofence identifying information capable of identifying thegeofence when the processing circuitry determines check-in of theterminal with respect to the geofence, and store the createddetermination history information.
 8. The check-in determinationapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing circuitrydetermines another geofence correlated in the stored related geofenceinformation as the target geofence.